Seminole Schools Win Prize For Proper Handling Of Food

Wilson Elementary and Seminole High schools have received top honors in the state for providing the best handling, storage and serving procedures for perishable foods in Florida school cafeterias.

Two other Central Florida schools, in Orange and Lake counties, came in second and fourth, respectively, from among 1,700 schools inspected last May by health specialists with the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.

Representatives from the food service division at the two Seminole County schools were presented the award during the recent annual meeting of the Region V, Florida School Food Service Association in Orlando.

Accepting the $1,000 first-place award were Evelyn Bedenbaugh, a food service employee at Wilson Elementary School, near Sanford, and Helen Constantine, cafeteria manager at Seminole High School, which prepares Wilson's food.

A $500 award was presented to June Broussard, cafeteria manager at Pershing Elementary School in Orlando. Two $200 awards were accepted by Joan Chatlinsky, cafeteria manager at Manatee Elementary School, in Bradenton, which placed third, and by Fran Smith, cafeteria manager at Leesburg Junior High School.

The Palatability Protection Project, co-sponsored by the health division of HRS and the Florida Dairy and Food Nutrition Council, began last January after students complained that milk, for instance, was too warm, was offered in unappealing containers and contained flavors absorbed from poorly cleaned storage areas, said C. Bronson Lane, executive director of the Dairy and Food Nutrition Council in Orlando.

As a result, a task force of representatives from HRS, the Florida School Food Service Association, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Dairy Products Association, the Parent-Teachers Association and the High School Principals Association developed criteria to evaluate the handling, storage and serving procedures for perishable foods, such as milk, in school cafeterias.

Based on the criteria, inspectors determined whether storage areas at the schools were clean and free of spoilage odors. They also determined whether milk and other perishables were easily accessible to students, whether the cartons were appealing and the temperature of items on the serving lines. The temperature and condition of cartons also were checked during delivery.